In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 16, No. 5 ( 2021-5-21), p. e0252116-
Abstract:
We aimed to explore the associations of musculoskeletal inflammation patterns with peripheral blood innate lymphoid cell (ILC) populations, serum cytokines/chemokines, and treatment response to methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA). Methods We enrolled 100 patients with either RA or SpA and performed ultrasound to evaluate power Doppler signals for synovitis (52 joint regions), tenosynovitis (20 tendons), and enthesitis (44 sites). We performed clustering analysis using unsupervised random forest based on the multi-axis ultrasound information and classified the patients into groups. We identified and counted ILC1-3 populations in the peripheral blood by flow cytometry and also measured the serum levels of 20 cytokines/chemokines. We also determined ACR20 response at 3 months in 38 patients who began treatment with methotrexate after study assessment. Results Synovitis was more prevalent and severe in RA than in SpA, whereas tenosynovitis and enthesitis were comparable between RA and SpA. Patients were classified into two groups which represented synovitis-dominant and synovitis-nondominant inflammation patterns. While peripheral ILC counts were not significantly different between RA and SpA, they were significantly higher in the synovitis-nondominant group than in the synovitis-dominant group (ILC1-3: p = 0.0007, p = 0.0061, and p = 0.0002, respectively). On the other hand, clustering of patients based on serum cytokines/chemokines did not clearly correspond either to clinical diagnoses or to synovitis-dominant/nondominant patterns. The synovitis-dominant pattern was the most significant factor that predicted clinical response to methotrexate (p = 0.0065). Conclusions Musculoskeletal inflammation patterns determined by ultrasound are associated with peripheral ILC counts and could predict treatment response to methotrexate.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.g003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.s003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.s004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.s005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.s006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0252116.r004
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
Permalink